1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a device for the automatic supplying of fish to fish processing machines, the device comprising a belly-back aligning section for aligning the fish in uniform belly-back position as well as for timed transferring of the same, which aligning section comprises at least one guide channel for receiving fish singly one after the other head first, the channel guiding the fish to an essentially vertical gap formed between a circumferential surface of a toothed roller and a guiding surface arranged opposite the toothed roller and yielding resiliently.
2. Description of Prior Art
A device with the features of the above species is known from DE-PS 1 454 092. In this device the fish already aligned head first are led to a belly-back aligning section according to a pulse sequence determined by a fish processing machine situated downstream. This belly-back aligning section consists of a driven toothed roller which extends perpendicularly into a guide channel for the fish. A guiding surface is arranged resiliently at a distance opposite the circumferential surface of the toothed roller, the front end of the guiding surface being twisted. The fish, accelerated by a pulse device, are brought between the circumferential surface and the guiding surface where, independent of their belly-back position, they are lifted up into the swimming position due to their drop-shaped cross-section. Subsequently they are turned from this position into a uniform side position by means of the twisted end of the guiding surface.
This device has proved to be very reliable in practice so long as fish come to be processed in a good quality condition. These conditions cannot be safeguarded, however, with catches made by set or drift nets. This kind of fishing, which has been known for a long time, is used more today due especially to its energy saving effect and the better selection of size which can be achieved. In this kind of fishing it is unavoidable that a relatively large portion of the fish thus caught reach the processing machine in a damaged condition. These damages are caused by the fish having to be picked or shaken out of the meshes after such nets have been hauled in, with the consequence that the gill structure and sometimes also the lower jaw are ripped off, or they break or crack. Fish thus damaged as well as possible undesired additional catch increase the danger of jamming or congestion, especially of the belly-back aligning section of such a supplying machine. If this occurs then the respective path is blocked with the consequence that the subsequent fish congest. Such a blocking has to be removed manually, for which purpose at least one operator is necessary so that the rationalisation effect of such an arrangement is at least partially lost.
3. Objects of the Invention
It is therefore an essential object of the invention to avoid such type of obstruction. It is another object of the invention to universalise the scope of application of known belly-back aligning arrangements thus to enable the handling of damaged fish occurring to a much greater extent in set or drift net fishing.